{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | image = Argyrops spinifer Day.png | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name = iucn>{{cite iucn |author=Iwatsuki, Y. |author2=Russell, B. |author3=Carpenter, K.E. |author4=Mann, B.Q. |author5=Buxton, C.D. |author6=Pollard, D. |author7=Shao, K. |author8=Kaymaram, F. |author9=Hassan-Al-Khalf, K. |author10=Abdulqader, E. |author11=Hartmann, S. |author12=Bishop, J. |author13=Alnazry, H. |author14=Alam, S. |author15=Jassim Kawari, A. |display-authors=3 |year=2014 |title=''Argyrops spinifer''|article-number=e.T170238A1299019 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T170238A1299019.en |access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref> | taxon = Argyrops spinifer | authority = ([[Peter Forsskål|Forsskål]], 1775) | synonyms = {{Specieslist | Sparus spinifer | Forsskål, 1775 | Pagrus longifilis | [[Achille Valenciennes|Valenciennes]], 1830 | Pagrus ruber | [[George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger]], 1888 | Pagrus ciliaris | [[Cecil von Bonde|von Bonde]], 1923 | Calamus ciliaris | (von Bonde, 1923) }} | synonyms_ref = <ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase|Argyrops|spinifer|month=October|year=2023}}</ref> }}
'''''Argyrops spinifer''''', the '''king soldierbream''', '''Bowen snapper''', '''long-spined red bream''', '''longfin snapper''', '''longspine seabream''' and '''red bokako''', It is a species of marine [[ray-finned fish]] belonging to the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Sparidae]]. This species is found in the Indian Ocean.
==Taxonomy== ''Argyrops spinifer'' was first formally [[Species description|described]] as ''Sparus spinifer'' in 1775 by the [[Swedish-speaking population of Finland|Swedish-speaking Finnish]] [[naturalist]] and [[explorer]] [[Peter Forsskål]] with its [[Type locality (biology)|type locality]] given as [[Jeddah]] in Saudi Arabia.<ref name = CofF>{{Cof genus|genus=Argyrops|access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref> In 1839 [[William Swainson]] proposed a new [[Monotypic taxon|monotypic]] [[subgenus]], ''[[Argyrops]]'' of ''[[Chrysophrys]]'' for this species, so this species is the [[type species]] of the genus ''Argyrops''.<ref name = CofF2>{{Cof family|family= Sparidae|access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref> ''[[Argyrops bleekeri]]'' of Australia and the Western Pacific has been considered to be [[conspecific]] with this species but they are now regarded as valid separate species.<ref name = FofA>{{cite web |author=Bray, D.J. |year=2021 |title=''Argyrops bleekeri'' |work=Fishes of Australia |access-date=30 December 2023 |url=https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/677 |publisher=Museums Victoria}}</ref> This species forms a [[species complex]] with ''[[Argyrops flavops|A. flavops]]'', described in 2018 from the [[Arabian Sea]].<ref name = I&H>{{cite journal |author=Iwatsuki, Yukio |author2=[[Phil Heemstra]] |year=2018 |title=Taxonomic review of the genus ''Argyrops'' (Perciformes; Sparidae) with three new species from the Indo-West Pacific |journal=Zootaxa |volume=4438 |issue=3 |page=401 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4438.3.1|pmid=30313129 }}</ref> The genus ''Argyrops'' is placed in the family Sparidae within the [[Order (biology)|order]] [[Spariformes]] by the 5th edition of ''[[Fishes of the World]]''.<ref name = Nelson5>{{cite book |author1=Nelson, J.S. |author1-link=Joseph S. Nelson |author2=Grande, T.C. |author3=Wilson, M.V.H. |year=2016 |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |place=Hoboken, NJ |pages=502–506 |isbn=978-1-118-34233-6 |lccn=2015037522 |oclc=951899884 |ol=25909650M |doi=10.1002/9781119174844}}</ref> Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Sparinae,<ref name = Parenti>{{cite journal |author= Parenti, P. |year=2019 |title=An annotated checklist of the fishes of the family Sparidae |journal=FishTaxa |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=47–98 |url= https://fishtaxa.com/menuscript/index.php/ft/article/view/49/52}}</ref> but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.<ref name = Nelson5/>
==Etymology== ''Argyrops spinifer'' has the [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]] ''spinifer'', which means "thorn bearer", which Forsskål did not explain, but it is assumed to refer to the simple, forward pointing first [[dorsal fin]] spine.<ref name = ETYFish>{{cite web |url=https://etyfish.org/spariformes/ |title=Order SPARIFORMES: Families LETHRINIDAE, NEMIPTERIDAE and SPARIDAE |work=The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database |access-date=30 December 2023 |date=22 December 2022 |publisher=Christopher Scharpf |archive-date=30 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030165034/https://etyfish.org/spariformes/ }}</ref>
==Description== ''Argyrops spinifer'' has its dorsal fin supported by between 11 and 13 spines, the first 2 spines being very short<ref>[https://www.fao.org/4/y0770e/y0770e23.pdf SPARIDAE] Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.</ref> and located on the same dorsal [[pterygiophore]], and 9 or 10 soft rays.<ref name = Fishbase/> In this species and ''A. flavops'' the presence of 4–6 very long and filamentous spines in the dorsal fin, typically the 3rd to 6th or 3rd to 8th, in both juveniles and subadults is a character separating them from other ''Argyrops'' species.<ref name = I&H/> The [[anal fin]] has 3 spines and 8 soft rays. This fish has a deep and strongly compressed body which has a [[standard length]] that is between 1.8 and 2 times its depth. I larger adults, i.e. those with a standard length in excess of {{cvt|60|cm}} there is a convex growth on the nape. The main colour on the body is silvery pinkish, darker on head and upperbody. The upper [[Operculum (fish)|opercular]] margin is typically dark red and all the fins are reddish with the [[pelvic fin|pelvic]] and anal fins being the palest. Juveniles and subadults have a number of red, vertical bars on their bodies.<ref name = WIOF>{{cite book |author=Yukio Iwatsuki |author2=Phillip C Heemstra |name-list-style=and |chapter=Family Sparidae |pages=284–315 |title=Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean |volume=3 |editor1=[[Phil Heemstra|Phillip C Heemstra]] |editor2=Elaine Heemstra |editor3=David A Ebert |editor4=Wouter Holleman |editor5=[[John Ernest Randall|John E Randall]] |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-990951-32-9 |publisher=South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity |url=https://saiab.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1._wiof_volume_3_text.pdf}}</ref> The king soldierbream has a maximum published [[total length]] of {{cvt|80|cm}} but {{cvt|30|cm}} is more typical.<ref name = Fishbase/>
==Distribution and habitat== ''Argyrops spinifer'' is found in the Indian Ocean but its exact distribution is difficult to determine as there are similar species and geographical forms.<ref name = iucn/><ref name = I&H/> It is found over a variety of depths between {{cvt|5|and|100|m}}, with the juveniles and subadults preferring shallower, more protected waters.<ref name = WIOF/>
==Biology== ''Argyrops spinifer'' is a predatory species, it largely hunts benthic invertebrates, particularly molluscs.<ref name = Fishbase/> The king soldierbream may be a [[protogynous]] hermaphrodite. In the Arabian Sea spawning was seen to take place between November and January, just after the end of the [[monsoon]].<ref name = iucn/>
==Fisheries== ''Argyrops spinifer'' is an important species for recreational and commercial fisheries.<ref name = WIOF/> They are caught using bottom [[Trawling|trawl]]s, [[Handline fishing|handlines]] and [[fish trap]]s, it has been studies for its potential in [[aquaculture]] in Oman.<ref name = iucn/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q774392}}
[[Category:Argyrops|spinifer]] [[Category:Taxa named by Peter Forsskål]] [[Category:Fish described in 1775]]